Women are spending unnecessary hours and efforts to not fall under the category of “too assertive” or “difficult” and yet perform as a leader. They are expected to bring the right amount of feminine qualities of nurturing and yet are often dismissed for being too soft when they lead by nurturing. To add further woes, they see their male counterparts who are not judged and criticized as harshly for showing the exact same leadership traits.
Let us start with some real life experiences of women who are rising rapidly in their careers and businesses and the dilemma they face.
‘As a leader I am expected to be fair and courageous in my decision making. Yet when I demonstrate these leadership traits, I am considered too tough and expected to bring a female caring and nurturing style. However, when I lead by nurturing, I am dismissed as soft and not fit enough to be a trusted and bold leader.’
‘When I state a clear and direct observation without bothering to sandwich it between small talk then I am often asked if I am angry.’
Challenge THREE
‘Sharing honest feedback is an integral part of a leader’s job but I am expected to always make the extra effort to sugar coat it and present it with lots of motivational talk or else I am labeled as ‘too tough.’
Today, we want to dive deep in this dilemma and how it affects women, and also how they may stay true to their authentic leadership styles. We have two extraordinary leadership coaches as my contributing experts who bring decades of experience and share their valuable tips and advice.
An ICF Leadership Coach, she partners with executives, leaders & aspiring leaders to build more consciousness into how they lead their teams and most importantly, themselves. Jennifer believes that leadership is an inside out approach.
As someone who has worked on her own personal development and self-leadership for over 15 years, she started her coaching practice helping others discover how to lead themselves and grow professionally and personally. Jennifer has over 20 years of experience working with executives and leaders in a large fortune 100 company in the Silicon Valley.
Nathalie is an Executive Business consultant, Motivational Speaker, & Adjunct Professor. Her mission is to be the accelerant for women who dare to lead with their authentic power and become fearless and bold in their choices and voice.
She leads and hosts one of the most popular leadership chats on Twitter under the hashtag #LeadLoudly! #LeadLoudly is the battle cry for women to be #bold #confident & #fearless! Join the conversation at the #LeadLoudly hashtag on Twitter!